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Thursday, December 13, 2012

Nap Mat and Pillow Tutorial

So as I said before, I finished the nap mat. It was a success in my eyes. I want to share how I did it with you. I have to be honest, I had a little help. I did not come up with the idea but I used some points from another blog. Simple Dimples. I changed a few things but overall it worked great. Here is a tutorial for what I did. I'm sorry if there isn't enough pictures. I am new to this. I did my best, not too bad for a first time.

Supplies List:
2 yards of fabric for the front and back of the mat
1 yard of fleece or minky fabric for attached blanket
1/2 yard white cotton fabric
8 ounces of fiberfill to stuff pillow
All purpose thread
A piece of 1” thick foam cut to 20” width by 40” length. You can find this at a store like Joann.
40” sew-on velcro ( or whatever you prefer)
pins

Making the Blanket:
Cut a 36"x 36" piece from fleece. (I chose a double sided fleece) If not double sided, you may need two pieces or a coordinated fabric for the other side.

Making the Mat:

Cut two approximately 20"x 52" rectangles from your mat fabric to make the front and back.

Cut four 4"x 6" rectangles for straps.

Using your 4"x 6" rectangles place them right sides together with a 1/4" seam allowance.
Sew the two long sides and one short side. Turn right side out and Iron flat.

Sew 3 inches of velcro to each strap. See picture for how I chose to do it.

The velcro goes across the other 20″ end on each piece. So fold it over 1.5″ and iron.
(sew your velcro onto each piece at one 20" end.)

I suggest placing the foam in and rolling it up as you would when it's done.
This step can also be done before or after sewing the entire thing together. I did not do that.
Then mark where your velcro needs to go on the back of the mat. For the straps.
Unfold and remove foam. Sew on the velcro.

Attaching the Blanket:

Lay out the 20"x 52" rectangle.
Lay the blanket on top (right sides together) line up edges leaving a gap on the bottom of the mat rectangle (see pictures).

Fold and tuck the rest of blanket inside of mat to keep it out of the way of the needle. Place the other rectangle right side down on top of it. Pin the pieces together (make sure blanket and straps are tucked inside). It will be inside out. It will be rather bulky.
Pin straps to bottom, tuck INSIDE mat.

Pin PIN PIN and stitch with 1/2" seam allowance.
Stitch bottom and LONG sides ONLY.
Leave the other end open for velcro and foam insert.

Turn Right side out.

Making the Pillow:

cut two 12'' by 18'' pieces of your white cotton. You could even use old sheets for this. I love to reuse and re-purpose.
Put right sides together and pin down all sides.
Sew down all sides leaving a small hole for your fiberfill and to turn right side out.
Turn right side out and stuff. hand stitch the hole.

To make the pillowcase I cut the fabric 9″ by 24.5″ and the fleece 18″ by 24.5″

Fold the print fabric in half and sew across the back of the 9″ end.
Iron the seam down.
Then fold the fabric in half and iron all the way around. It will be a circle.

Then take the fleece, and fold your 24.5″ sides together, and sew down the side and one end.

Take your print fabric and with right sides together, line it up with the open end of the fleece case and sew all the way around with a 1/4″ seam allowance.
You can top stitch but I didn't see a need.

Making the Letters:

Find a Design or Letters you want to applique.
Place the heat and bond on top of your design, paper side up, and trace your design. You'll need to flip the paper over so when you trace, the letters are backwards.

(backwards letters)
Heat your iron according to the directions that came with the heat and bond. When the iron is hot, place the fabric right (front) side down on your ironing surface and press to remove any wrinkles. Be sure to put the side you want to use face down so you’re looking at the back of the fabric. Double check before ironing!

Now you can cut out your letters, or design.

Carefully peel the paper backing from the iron-on adhesive. If the backing is difficult to separate from the adhesive, tear the edge of the paper a little to get things started, or use a fingernail to separate the paper from the fabric.

Now the letters are cut. I used some fabric adhesive and glued them (Used Fabric-Tac to glue them) onto the mat where I wanted them. Removed foam and zig zag stitched the letter edges.

Replace foam and you're done. Use "Fray Check" if you notice any fraying on the Applique letters. ( used scrap fleece so I did not have a problem)

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